Using Ocean Forest in Compost Pile?

I was just looking for a second opinion about a compost pile I'm planning. I'm going to be doing vermicomposting and was wondering if I could speed up the process by adding a bag of ocean forest to the compost bin. I believe it will be helpful seeing how there are the appropriate organic soil microbes already in Ocean Forest. What should I expect? Someone with experience in composting/vermi preferred. Thanks in advance.

http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/index.php/item/happy-frog-174-potting-soil.html

I have always thought the HF was the one with beneficial microbes and fungi?
Not FFOF.
Beech

Either way yes it wil work, although i would say just stick with the traditional way of composting, no need to spend extra on fox farm imo

I'm sorry, I was under the impression that organic was organic because it had been broken down by bacteria and fungi in the soil. I suspected these organism to be present in the finished product. I'll call them tomorrow and post. Until then, would adding ANY compost containing necessary microbes assist in a hastened decomposition of compost? Is there something I'm missing in said finished product that would be detrimental to vermicomposting? I can't imagine, however I've never composted before. Yes, I mean vermicomposting.

foreverflyhi said:

Either way yes it wil work, although i would say just stick with the traditional way of composting, no need to spend extra on fox farm imo

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Nice. Thanks. Just needed a second opinion. I thought I'd add a cup or so just to give a tiny boost. I mean all it takes is a few bacteria/microbes and they'll multiply given the right environment. Thanks a lot. Thanks Beech for the link. Rep+ guys.

You want to give a boost, get a small bag of Espoma Bio-Tone and chunk it in the compost pile. A few handfuls of alfalfa meal will get things going also.

Get past the shortcut, speeding up mindset AFA compost goes, vermi or the pile in the backyard. You can do everything right, but it still takes time and proceeds at its own rate.

Wet

Wetdog said:

You want to give a boost, get a small bag of Espoma Bio-Tone and chunk it in the compost pile. A few handfuls of alfalfa meal will get things going also.

Get past the shortcut, speeding up mindset AFA compost goes, vermi or the pile in the backyard. You can do everything right, but it still takes time and proceeds at its own rate.

Wet

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Patience is a virtue. Couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep those in mind.

AllenHaze said:

I'm sorry, I was under the impression that organic was organic because it had been broken down by bacteria and fungi in the soil. I suspected these organism to be present in the finished product. I'll call them tomorrow and post. Until then, would adding ANY compost containing necessary microbes assist in a hastened decomposition of compost? Is there something I'm missing in said finished product that would be detrimental to vermicomposting? I can't imagine, however I've never composted before. Yes, I mean vermicomposting.

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Your obviously on the right track with true sustainable organics. (Dont bother with calling fox farm, they are sellin their product, organic or not, not really the point of what your trying to achieve or understand)

too awnser your questions, yes you can, well kinda,
i would throw in greensand (green sand takes a long time in soil but compost quicker(doesnt speed up compost tho, i think))

and my fav, oyster shell, this adds calcium and much more to the circle of life


oh last thing, get you hands on fungi and put it in the compost!
you can achieve this by going to a rich forest, simply collect soil near a well established tree, (just make sure you dont over due it)

Give this thread a couple days, im sure many organic heads will bring more knowledge!

The "standard" ways to inoculate a new worm bin are either a handful of high quality finished compost or a handful of rich, healthy soil from outdoors. Adding a handful of soil also provides grit the worms need for digestion.

I personally would avoid using fox farms soilless mix in a worm bin. It's full of bark, twigs, perlite, etc that will just take up space and take a LONG time to break down, if at all.

Other than that, the microbiology that gets a worm bin cranking already exists in the worms' guts.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1580170234/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
I would highly suggest this book. I beleive it is less expensive than the soil you want to add to your compost and will have you well on your way to making the aerobic bacteria and fungi that you want and is beneficial to fruit/flower bearing plants.

foreverflyhi said:

Your obviously on the right track with true sustainable organics. (Dont bother with calling fox farm, they are sellin their product, organic or not, not really the point of what your trying to achieve or understand)

too awnser your questions, yes you can, well kinda,
i would throw in greensand (green sand takes a long time in soil but compost quicker(doesnt speed up compost tho, i think))

and my fav, oyster shell, this adds calcium and much more to the circle of life


oh last thing, get you hands on fungi and put it in the compost!
you can achieve this by going to a rich forest, simply collect soil near a well established tree, (just make sure you dont over due it)

Give this thread a couple days, im sure many organic heads will bring more knowledge!

Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I do live in a heavily forested area. I was actually thinking about going through the woods and finding old logs that had already been breaking down for years. You know, the ones that just look like a pile of wet sawdust? The fungi idea is great def be trying that out. We just got snow, so it might be a while. I also have access to an old cow manure pit. The manure has been composting for over 20 years though do you think its still "fresh"? I may actually at this point have several piles and a vermicompost bin. I'm thinking I will remove the manure from the "shitpit" as we so lovingly call it and use that primarily for the vermi and then do my own thing with another compost pile that I may or may not add worms to. Is there a big difference between the quality of vermi and hot compost? I like the idea of harvesting wormcastings and tea very VERY much. More than I like the idea of waiting as long as a year or more for a hot compost. There were calf bones in the pile as well, they too are over 20 years old. Bad? I mean 20 years has to be long enough to eliminate pathogens. I'm assuming the calf died so they composted it. Idk, we use it as a veggie farm no animals, well one pig, and a bunch of cats. Thanks again, you guys were much more helpful and sincere than I had anticipated. Can't believe how natural this feels. Like a calling. I've actually notice many, many people say the same thing which has convinced me that gardening is an innate part of the human genome.

Worm castings are AT LEAST as effective as thermal compost; usually more. Quicker turnaround time, smaller footprint, and higher quality. Seems like a no brainer to me.

If I had more space, I would definitely have a compost pile going. In fact, I plan to build a small outdoor compost bin here soon (likely a 4x4x3 bin constructed from cinder blocks). This bin will be used primarily for yard waste, while the worm bins handle just about all of my food waste.

For now, my worm bins supply all the humus I need for my soil and compost teas.

AllenHaze said:

I was just looking for a second opinion about a compost pile I'm planning. I'm going to be doing vermicomposting and was wondering if I could speed up the process by adding a bag of ocean forest to the compost bin. I believe it will be helpful seeing how there are the appropriate organic soil microbes already in Ocean Forest. What should I expect? Someone with experience in composting/vermi preferred. Thanks in advance.

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Really no need to. It's not a bad idea to toss a handful of soil in there for grit/digestion purposes, but your worm bin will have all sorts of microbiology in there all by itself in no time.

The worms can't ingest the organic inputs until the microbes have had their way with it first, so if you notice that the items that you are putting in are disappearing, then you know that microbes are there and are doing their thing.

i ve been composting for years and picked up a few tips along the way. to turn grass/leaf clippings into dirt more quickly double mow it. mulch cut it then go over it again w the bag attached. its dirt in a month or so. i add a handful of lime and greensand once a month in warm weather. eggshells are good for calcium etc. turn the soil over every few weeks or monthly. the ffof i use for my flower pots gets recycled and once a year perlite is added. then when using it i add more perlite and lime in case of hot spots. i fill my grow pots w 50% of my compost mix then the other half w store purchased materials. the most unique addition to the pile is the black frass from the inside of trees.

You say you're doing vermicomposting, but then want to add to the pile and heat it up to make it compost faster? The heated pile might drive the worms away.

I'm no fool. I'm not going to do THERMAL composting and worm composting in the same bin or pile. That would be extremely ignorant. I clearly stated that I would be doing separate piles. Thanks. Take care.

AllenHaze said:

I'm no fool. I'm not going to do THERMAL composting and worm composting in the same bin or pile. That would be extremely ignorant. I clearly stated that I would be doing separate piles. Thanks. Take care.

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Just FYI, healthy thermal compost piles are usually LOADED with red worms. As long as the worms are able to move away from the hottest portion of the pile (the center), they will happily go about their waste-munching business around the edges. They are very resilient little creatures, and will quickly move toward conditions that suite them.

SpicySativa said:

Just FYI, healthy thermal compost piles are usually LOADED with red worms. As long as the worms are able to move away from the hottest portion of the pile (the center), they will happily go about their waste-munching business around the edges. They are very resilient little creatures, and will quickly move toward conditions that suite them.

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A worm bin is a little different. If a worm bin starts heating up (like if you add a little to much alfalfa meal), the worms may die off because they have no safe haven to escape to.